Stock switch



H. F. BENOIT STOCK SWITCH Feb. 19; 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed July 8, 1950 IN VEN TOR 2/6222; Z5020! f BY AT T ORN H. F. BENOIT Feb. 19, 1952 STOCK SWITCH 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed July 8, 1950 llllllll OR end/7' ATTORNEY fig 5 Patented Feb. 19, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3- Claims.

This invention relates to directional transfermeans and refers particularly to means for transferring the now of material from a given source to difierent selected destinations through pipe lines and novel method of controlling the same.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide means which may be positioned in a pipe-lineorconduit of a systemfor conveying material from a given source of origin whereby said pipe line from said source of origin may be quickly, easily and efiiciently directed through any selected one of a plurality of different pipe lines or conduits to different selected sources of desination.

Another object is to provide a switching device whereby the transferring of stock as from the picker room or the like in mills to different bins in accordance with the color of said materials may be quickly and easily achieved.

Another object is to provide a stock switch of the above character which is simple and durable in construction and efiicient in operation whereby the direction of flow of given selected materials may be more postivelycontrolled.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and it will be apparent that many-changes may be madein the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described as the-preferred forms only are given by way of illustration.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is afragmentary perspective view of the device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as on line 5-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of flexible piping embodying the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate" like partsthroughout the several views, the invention is directed particularly to the provision of' a switch arrangement for use in pipe lines or conduits employed in transferring stock, for example, from the picker room or-card' roomtowhat' is commonly known in mills as gauze bins in accordance with the color of the stock.

Ithas been a practice in the past to provide a stock switch of the type having-a damper-like member which may be swung about a pivot to. direct. the stock through the pipe line from a given. source to a pipe. line communicating with a. given bin in which material. of stock of a desired coloris to be directed. When a different colored material is being transferred. through said pipe line or conduit, the. damper-like member is shifted in effect coupling said pipe line to another pipeline communicating: with a dif-' ferent bin or source ofdestination.

With the prior art constructions, considerable difliculty has been encountered in that there is no means provided for assuring that the damper-like member was operating properly with the result that different colored materials were constantly becoming mixed in the bins because of inefficient operation of said members.

Another diiiiculty with the prior art damperlike arrangement was that of having the material being conveyed. accumulate in the damper. as by becoming snarled therewith or otherwise gatheredthereon whereby a shift of saiddamper to convey a material of a diiferent color wouldv release the previously conveyed material and cause it to become intermixed with the second conveyed material. This has been a major difficulty in conveyors of. this type in the past and it is, therefore, one of the primary objects of this invention to provide a stock switch for use in pipe lines employed in mills whereby loose fibrous materials such as picker or carded materials. may be positively conveyed .to given sources of destination with no danger of saidmaterials becoming mixed or with no danger of materials becoming clogged in the said switch and subsequently released and intermixed with other materials.

The device embodying the invention comprises a pipe line 6 supported by a plate member I connected by suitable brackets or time members 8 to a frame member 9'. The frame member 9 has a plate Hi to which is connected spaced pipe lines 'H and [2. It is to be understood that although tvvo pipe lines III and I2, are shown that three or more may be employed, if desired. The. pipe line 6. has a flared end lisurroundedby an annular member I l" and which is provided. with suitable aligned openings through which screws or other connecting means I5 are extended for attaching said pipe line to the plate I. On the opposite side of the plate I is provided an annular sleeve I 6 having a flanged portion I! through which the connecting means I5 extend for securing the sleeve to the plate I. The sleeve I6 is extended within the free end of a flexible coupling I8 which is secured to said sleeve by clamp ring I9. The details of construction of said clamp ring I9 will be more clearly described hereinafter.

The flexible coupling I8, in this particular instance comprises cylindrical sections of flexible material such as rubber, synthetic rubber, nylon or other materials resistant to acids, oils and the like. The said cylindrical sections 20 are arranged with end portions 2| and 22 positioned in overlapping relation with each other and overlying relation with ring-like members 23 and are joined on the opposed sides of said rings 23 by suitable stitchings or the like 24, see Fig. 3. It is particularly pointed out that the overlapping ends or joined ends of the cylindrical sections 20 are so overlapped that there will be no raw end facing the direction of the flow of the material through said coupling, as illustrated by the arrow 25, whereby there will be little danger, if any, of the materials being trapped or held in said coupling during said conveying. The end of the flexible coupling, opposed to the plate I, as ileye-like members 48 on the opposed sides of said sleeve 21 and to which flexible cords 41 are attached. The said cords 41 extend over suitable pulleys 48 carried by the respective bars 38 and are each provided with a hand-gripped member 49 whereby the slide 29 may be moved longitudinally of the slideway, as specified above, into alignment with one or the other of said pipe lines II or I2. The said bar-like members 38 and the edges of the slide plate 29 are so dimensioned that when the plate 29 is pulled into engagement with one of said bar-like members 38, said bar-like member will function as a stop for limiting movement of the plate in the direction thereof in such a manner as to automatically align the openings 4| and 45 respectively.

- The tie rods or members 8, as shown in Fig. 4, have reduced threaded end portions 50 which extend through suitable aligned openings in the parts and are secured thereto. as bynuts or-the like 5I.

Although applicanthas shown and described the flexible coupling'l'8 as being formed of cylindrical sections of rubber, synthetic rubber, nylon lustrated at 26, is positioned in overlying relation with a sleeve 21 having a flange 28 and which is, in turn, connected with a slide plate 29 as by screws or the like 30. The end 28 is secured in overlapping'relation with the sleeve 21 by clamp ring 3I similar to the clamp ring I9 and which, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, has spaced end portions 32 and 33 connected by a clamp screw 34 whereby the clamp ring 3| may be tightened to securely attach the end 26 to the sleeve 21.

The slide plate 29 is mounted in superimposed relation with the plate I0 which, in turn, has spaced upper and lower strips 35, see Figs. '1 and 3, secured thereto as by screws or the like 36 which extend through spacer strips 3'! to form slideways for receiving the opposed upper and lower edges of the slide plate 29. The ends of the plate 29 and slideways formed by the spacer strips 31 and strips are provided with vertical bars 38 which provide means for limiting the movement of the slide plate 29 from one end to the other of said slideway. The bars 38 are each provided with upwardly projecting ends 39 having a perforation therein to form means for attaching and supporting the device in position of use. The plate 'I is provided with similar perforated members 49.

. Theplate I0 is provided with spaced openings 4| aligned with the respective pipe sections II and I2. The said pipe sections II and I2, as shown in Fig. 3, are each provided with a flanged end 42 having an annular member-43 positioned in superimposed relation therewith and secured in position as by attaching screws or the like 44. The slide plate 29 is also provided with an opening 45 which is surrounded by the flanged sleeve 21. The said openings M and 45 and the respective pipe lines and sleeve 21 are substantially of the same diameter, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby a continuous uninterrupted flow of the material will take place therethrough.

The flanged portion 28 of the sleeve 21, carried by the slide plate 29, is provided with book or i or any other suitable acid or oil resisting material,

it is to be understood that any suitable coupling may be employed. For example, said coupling may be formed, as shown in Fig. 5, in which instance there is provided a plurality of S-like cross-sectional strips 52 spirally Wound so that the inner and outer portions of the S-like crosssections will overlie each other and will overlie a continuous strip of resilient material 53 which functions as means for resiliently sealing the inner and outer sections 54 and 55 of said spirally wound strips with each other in such a manner that the resultant tubing is flexible and free to be distorted without allowing leakage of air or any other means which may be directed therethrough to convey the material. The S-like strips are provided with inwardly deflected end portions 56 and 51 to provide means to function cooperatively with the resilient liner 23 for retaining said helically arranged convolutions in assembled relation with each other. The strips 52 of S-like cross-section are preferably formed of a thin metal sheeting and are spirally or helically wound with the continuous liner 53 positioned between the overlapping sections of said strips to, in effect, produce a continuous flexible pipe line. As specified above, any suitable flexible coupling may be used.

Although specific details of construction have 'been shown and described, it is to be understood that several modifications as to details of construction may be used within the scope of the invention.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple, economical and efiicient means have been provided for accomplishing all of the objects and advantages of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a support having, adjacent one end thereof, a relatively rigid pipe member and a substantially straight slideway positioned adjacent its opposed end having a plurality of spaced openings therein, a flat slide plate mounted in said slideway having an opening therein, spaced pipe members supported in substantially parallel relation with each other on the slideway one in alignment with each respective opening therein, a flexible coupling embodying a tubular member having a plu- "raliiw of reversely related circumferential folds extending throughout the major portion of its' length having one end thereof attached in alignment with one end of the first pipe member and having its opposed end attached to the slide plate in alignment with the opening therein and means for reversely shifting said slide plate in a substantially straight line sidewise direction into and out of alignment with the respective openings in said slideway and with the spaced pipe members carried thereby.

2. A device of the character described comprising a support having, adjacent one end thereof, a perforated plate with a relatively rigid pipe member supported in alignment with said perforation and, adjacent its opposed end, a slideway supported in substantially parallel relation with the plate and having a plurality of perforations therein, a plurality of spaced relatively rigid pipe members, one supported in alignment with each of the respective perforations in the slideway, a

flat slide plate in said siideway having an open-,

ing therein, a flexible coupling embodying a tubular member having a plurality of reversely related circumferential folds extending throughout the major portion of its length having one end thereof attached in alignment with the perforation in the first-mentioned plate and having its opposed end attached to the slide plate in alignment with the opening therein, and pull string means attached to the opposed ends of the slide plate for shifting the opening in said slide plate into and out of alignment with the respective openings in the slideway and spaced pipe members carried by said slideway.

3. A device of the character described comprising a frame-like support embodying a flat perforated plate having a pipe member supported in alignment with said perforation, a plurality of tie members attached, adjacent one end thereof, to said plate, a substantially straight slideway attached to the opposed ends of said tie members in substantially parallel relation with and said plate having a plurality of openings therein, a substantially flat slide plate mounted in said slideway having an opening therein, a flexible extendable and retractable coupling extending throughout the distance between said perforated plate and said slide plate having one end thereof attached in alignment with the perforation in the first-mentioned plate and having its opposed end attached to the slide plate in alignment with the openin therein, pull string means for shifting said slide plate into and out of aligned relation with the'respective openings in said slideway and a pipe member secured to the slideway in alignment with each of the respective openings therein.

HENRY F. BENOIT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 721,743 Richmond Mar. 3, 1903 2,380,310 Hornbrook July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 290,087 Great Britain May 10, 1928 

